American breakfast can cause cancer

Several popular breakfast cereals, including Cheerios and Nature Valley products, have a residual amount of controversial herbicide that increases the risk of developing cancer, writes CNN.

Фото: Depositphotos

The Environment Working Group found that in all 21 products tested, the level of glyphosate was “higher than what EWG scientists consider acceptable for children's health.”

Producers claim that their products are safe and the results are not unprecedented: in October, the group also found that most of the breakfast cereals it tested contained glyphosate, the main ingredient in the weed killer.

The new report also refers to two well-known court decisions, during which it was determined that the herbicide caused cancer in the plaintiffs.

In March, the federal jury unanimously determined that Roundup was "a significant factor", which caused cancer in a man from california. And last month, a California jury ordered the manufacturer, Monsanto, to pay over 2 billion dollars to a couple who had been diagnosed with cancer because of the long-term use of a weed control product.

The latter decision is being appealed, but about 11 thousands of similar cases are pending in the courts.

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The pharmaceutical giant Bayer AG, which now owns Monsanto, claims that its product is safe.

General Mills, which produces all the products tested in the EWG report, stated that "its top priority is food safety."

The company noted that "most crops grown in the fields use certain types of pesticides, and most of the products we all eat contain a residual amount of them."

An analysis published in February showed that glyphosate can increase the risk of developing cancer by almost 41%.

Herbicide can penetrate processed foods after use on farms where oats are grown, but none of the values ​​found in any food in the new report exceeded the established standards by the Environmental Protection Agency.

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“It is not surprising that very low levels of pesticides, including glyphosate, were found in food,” said Dr. Paolo Boffetta, associate director of population sciences at the Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai. “Overall, these levels are unlikely to affect the health of consumers.”

Still, “it’s important for people to know whether there is glyphosate or other chemicals in their food, even in very small quantities,” said Boffett, who was not involved in the reports or analysis.

Manufacturers dispute the rules. An October statement from General Mills states that “the extremely low level of pesticide residue mentioned in recent news reports represents an insignificant share of the amount the government allows.”

In April, the EPA said that proper use of glyphosate poses “no health risks” and the chemical is “not a carcinogen” that causes cancer. But the World Health Organization agency, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, determined in 2015 that glyphosate is "probably carcinogenic to humans."

War of words

A study of internal letters from Monsanto, conducted in 2017, showed that company executives tried to discredit the report of the International Agency for Research on Cancer before it was published.

The company denies any undue influence on regulators. And its parent company Bayer Crop Science criticized the environmental task force in a recent statement. “The group behind the new report has a long history of spreading misinformation about pesticide residues,” said spokeswoman Lorde.

EWG, a non-profit organization based in Washington, has denied the allegations.

Although EWG claims to be an independent organization, it has the support of the organic industry, stating that its “corporate partners in general support and events” include Organic Valley and Stonyfield Farms. Foods labeled as organic cannot be grown with synthetic substances, including glyphosate.

The group also has a “shared services agreement” with the Organic Voices Foundation, a non-profit organization funded by companies such as Nature's Path and Annie's, both of which produce flakes.

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